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The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the central banks of France, Singapore and Switzerland have successfully completed testing of cross-border trading and settlement operations in wholesale CBDCs. Cross-border trading and settlement of wholesale wCBDC between financial institutions using new DeFi concepts on a public blockchain were tested. The parties agreed on a common technical standard wCBDC, bridges for the transfer of CBDC between different blockchains. Also agreed upon is the use of an automated market maker (AMM), a special type of decentralized exchange for automated trading and settlement of spot foreign exchange trades. BIS said: for the purposes of the project, AMM combined the liquidity of hypothetical wCDBC in Swiss francs, euros and Singapore dollars using algorithms that allow automatic evaluation and execution of foreign exchange transactions in real time. Let us recall that BIS President Agustin Carstens previously called on countries around the world to modernize legislation in order to legalize the introduction of digital currencies of central...

Spain's new wealth tax, introduced to reduce the cost of living for ordinary Spaniards amid high inflation, has already raised €632 million this year. Source:https://www.zawya.com/en/world/uk-and-europe/spains-new-wealth-tax-raises-676mln-euros-exccm3ee At the end of 2022, the left-wing government introduced a temporary solidarity tax for high net worth owners for 2023 and 2024, effectively ending regional exemptions from the existing wealth tax like those in Madrid, which rivals Miami in attracting wealthy Latin American taxpayers. The tax applies to wealth exceeding €3 million and can be as high as 3.5% depending on the size of the individual's wealth. In total, 12,010 wealthy people paid the new tax, representing 0.1% of all taxpayers in Spain, mainly in Madrid, Andalusia and Galicia. According to government forecasts, there is a potential opportunity to collect 1.5 billion euros in tax on large fortunes if extended to all...

Back in 2021, the Irish government began an initial consultation on a territorial tax system. The purpose of the innovations is to exempt dividends received by Irish companies from foreign sources from corporation tax. If a legal entity receives dividends from another company in which it has a certain percentage of shares, then it will not pay tax on these dividends. This step is necessary to encourage investment and avoid double taxation. The roadmap presented by the government includes technical advice and invites stakeholders to answer 53 questions regarding the development of a dividend participation regime. These questions are divided into four main areas: Structural considerations (for example, the optionality of the existing tax-plus-credit regime). Indirect consequences (for example, alignment with existing benefits for foreign subsidiaries). Anti-avoidance rules (eg potential modification of Ireland's anti-hybrid provisions). Any other issues that must be taken into account when registering participation in foreign dividends. The current corporate tax system, which provides double tax relief on foreign dividends, often does not result in...

Despite a large number of objections and amendments from other parties and a veto by the President of Portugal, the parliamentary majority was able to achieve the entry into force of the "Mais Habitação" package of measures aimed at improving housing affordability. What is the final version of the main measures provided for in the amendments entering into force? Limits on rent increases under new contracts. The initial rent for new contracts for houses that have been on the rental market for the past five years cannot exceed 2% of the previous value. Family IMI deduction increases. It will be 30, 70 and 140 € for one, two and three or more dependents. Forced rental of empty housing, which applies to housing that has been empty for more than 2 years. Owners will have 90 days to start using it for housing or put it on the rental market. Capital gains tax exemption for housing sold to a municipality, which means the IRS is cleared when the property is sold to the state or municipalities. Cancellation of tax benefits under the IRC for investment funds participating in housing renovation. Extraordinary tax on short-term rental housing. AL (alojamento local) in...

In September, Saudi Arabia published a resolution in the Official Gazette calling for a review of the provision that applies to income tax on payments to non-residents. This is the tax withheld by the tax agent on the payment of income to a person who is not a permanent resident of Saudi Arabia. What has changed? The innovations provide for taxation of any income of non-residents received from sources in Saudi Arabia. Depending on the type of earnings, the following tax rates will apply: dividends - 5%; interest income - 5%; royalty or rental income - 15%; technical and consulting services - 5%. Local legislation establishes the following rules for determining residence in Saudi Arabia: the individual has a permanent residence in Saudi Arabia and resides in the jurisdiction for a total period of at least 30 days in the tax year; the individual resides in Saudi Arabia for at least 183 days in the tax year. If any of the above rules do not apply to an individual, then he has non-resident...

A person who resides in Thailand for up to 180 days per year and receives foreign income from employment or assets will be subject to personal income tax under Section 48 of the Internal Revenue Code. This rule was announced by the Thai Tax Department on September 18. This has three specific targets: residents trading foreign stock markets through foreign brokerages, cryptocurrency traders and Thais who exploited a loophole that allowed them to bring foreign income into the country tax-free after holding it in an offshore account for more than a calendar year. “The principle of taxation is that you must pay tax on income you receive from abroad, regardless of how you earn it and regardless of the tax year in which the money is earned,” a Treasury source said , who wished to remain anonymous. The previous rule allowed residents with foreign income to be taxed only if the money was remitted to Thailand in the same year in which it was earned. The tougher measure is intended to close the door on deferring the remittance of foreign earnings to another year. The new rule, which will come into effect on January 1, 2024, will allow authorities to tax individuals' foreign...

Previously, married couples in Switzerland were taxed jointly. In most cases, married couples pay higher taxes because they file one joint return. When both spouses are high earners, they pay higher taxes. The amount of their income is subject to high tax rates. The guidelines are intended to implement an initiative that advocates individual taxation regardless of marital status. Under the proposed changes, married couples would file two separate tax returns and would be subject to the same rules as unmarried couples. Also, the amount of the child deduction applicable to direct federal tax will be increased from 6,600 to 12,000 francs. The process of introducing new principles of individual taxation will be gradual and the decrease in budget revenues will not be felt for several...

On September 13, 2023, a regional forum on GMT Pillar 2 was held in the UAE. During which it was decided to abandon the introduction of a minimum corporate tax in the Emirates in 2024. Although the UAE has joined the OECD initiative, the prospects for its introduction remain closed. Let us recall that in 2021 the OECD invited member countries to introduce the concept of a minimum corporate tax, setting the rate at no less than 15%. The joint final statement of the representatives of the UAE and the OECD did not look optimistic. The parties agreed that broad consultations on the introduction of GMT would continue in the Emirates, but the actual timing of this event was not specified. There is no official information. The new business tax scheme, adopted in the summer of 2023, increases the corporate tax rate to 9%, which is less than the threshold determined by the OECD. Perhaps the UAE is not interested in introducing GMT Pillar 2 or is considering this option, but in the distant...

Visa and Currencycleud have launched Visa Cross-Border Solutions, which provides cross-border money movement solutions for banks, fintech companies, currency brokers and other payment institutions. Source:https://www.electronicpaymentsinternational.com/news/visa-inc-and-currencycloud-launch-visa-cross-border-solution/?cf-view Visa Cross-Border Solutions combines proprietary cross-border and cash management capabilities with the solutions resulting from the acquisition of Currencycleud. Visa Cross-Border Solutions operates on a B2B4X model, meaning the company serves other businesses but focuses on improving the end-user experience. Visa Cross-Border Solutions offers a set of modular building blocks that can be easily integrated with a company's existing technology infrastructure. This is done through an application programming interface or API. These building blocks provide a range of capabilities including accepting payments in multiple currencies, foreign exchange (FX) with constant real-time rates, multi-currency wallets that store more than 30 currencies. This currency can be spent and sent to over 180 countries and territories. “Cross-border collaboration offers...